Since 1993, the Board of Trustees has formed several working councils to study and research, provide data and program analysis, and make recommendations to improve outcomes for children and families in Stark County. These working councils and work groups perform various functions within the Stark County Family Council while fostering community involvement.

The current focus of these groups are directed towards young children, cultural competency, employment, violence, adoption/foster care support and respite care.

Working Council on Young Children
As a response to a Children's Defense Fund report on outcomes for young children and their families, the Working Council on Young Children (WCYC) was formed in 1996. It has taken the lead in collaborative efforts relative to young children.

Members include those in the heart of our community: parents, providers from public schools, child care centers, Head Start, child and public health, mental health, social services, Department of Human Services, local universities, Board members and others interested in early childhood issues. The group focuses on prenatal though age eight, and meets monthly, with special sessions called as needed.

The WCYC delivers a collective message to parents about the importance of early childhood development, especially infant brain development, and facilitates an active engagement in services and supports to help maximize outcomes. An ongoing Public Engagement Campaign provides a tool for parents, including information on types of programs available, what to look for in various programs, and a checklist of family priorities and program components.

As with most communities, we are facing the impact of welfare reform and the WCYC convened a Community Forum to discuss and to form strategies and safety nets to protect young children and families. This forum has blended with another community group, The Welfare Reform Impact Study Group.

Two WCYC task groups have developed to develop systemic processes. The Grants and Evaluation group has responsibility for drafting funding applications and evaluate collaborative programs. The Joint Committee on Training has developed a "Universal Scope of Study" for all professionals, paraprofessionals and parent support workers and initiated the Training Locator page of this Web site.

The WCYC and the local Early Intervention Collaborative work together to more meaningfully impact young children. This blended group maintains a partnership and advisory role within the Family Council.

Although WCYC works primarily at the systemic level, considerable effort is applied to problem solving, or creative strategy planning, at the programmatic level. Facilitated sessions are held when lengthy or structured discussion is needed.
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Working Council on Cultural Competency
In 1993, Early Intervention and Family Council collaborated to seek funding for a mentoring project for very young African American children and their families. It was clear there was a very serious gap in service delivery: out of a statistical target population of over 900 at-risk infants and toddlers, three African American children were being served through an Individual Family Service Plan. Although there was little available data, it was apparent the gap existed across systems.

The Working Council on Cultural Competency (WCCC) was formed in 1995 to develop an interagency/community collaborative that collects service data, evaluates service delivery, provides diversity training and technical assistance for provider development that will improve services and outcomes for African Americans and other minority families.

Currently there are 30 community, agency, system and family members working together to provide the sensitive and difficult task of assessing service and agency competency. The Council has also formed a Trainer Team, with 12 members designated and participating in a Train the Trainer program.

The WCCC will continue to develop relationships with providers to expand the diversity training to reduce the threatening nature of evaluation, and work as technical assistants with agencies to build accountability. In addition, it is difficult to maintain momentum for improving competency in an environment where services and consumers are involved in crisis management, and we are currently working on that issue.
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Working Council on Employment and Training: Common Good Team
The Common Good is a state-wide project to facilitate the development of collaborative interagency linkages in order to:
improve services for at-risk youth and adults and to develop high quality, cost effective customer services.

The project was initiated in 1990 and funded by the Ohio Department of Education, Division of Vocational and Adult Education. In 1995, a Stark County team was selected as a Common Good affiliate. Local members include representatives from schools, OBES, Job Training Partnership, housing, social services and adult literacy. In 1996, the Common Good team became the Working Council on Employment so that collaboration would be enhanced, and efforts would not be duplicated.

Accomplishments include the development of strategies and a layered implementation plan to integrate a computer network among employment and training services, sending a team to Columbus for the training institute Building Linkages for At-risk Families in Ohio, and sharing expertise as inter-collaborative members on other Working Councils, especially the Joint Committee on Training. We are currently focusing on expanding the collaborative, and setting short- and long-range goals to better serve the community.
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Community Forum Against Violence
The purpose of the Community Forum Against Violence is to bring families, service providers, law enforcement officials, government officials and community members together to discuss the impact of violence in our community, and to develop strategies to decrease violent activity throughout Stark County.

The first meeting was held in 1995, and the forum continues to grow,  involving school superintendents, judges and service providers who all share their perspectives about community violence.

A "Week Without Violence" was a county-wide campaign initiated by the group, who also encouraged other groups, schools and individuals to co-sponsor activities for the week. All discussions and decisions about the "Week Without Violence" activities included youth perspective.

Forum participants also support a programs in area school districts that teaches elementary students alternative ways of dealing with anger. Strategies are being developed to expand efforts and include middle school-age youth throughout the county and work with other community groups that are also trying to address this issue.

By coordinating all their violence prevention activities with others throughout the county, the Community Forum Against Violence envisions a community that seeks non-violent ways of living and solving problems.
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Long Term Care Work Group - Adoption Supports
In July of 1996, a group of adoptive parents contacted Stark County Family Council and expressed their concerns about the long-term needs of their adoptive children. They needed intensive and costly services, some of which do not even exist in this community. There may be a need to explore alternative service and funding options as well.

The work group's initial meeting was held in September of 1996. Since then, subcommittees have identified a potential model to meet the families' needs; identified potential funding sources, since no direct service dollars have been secured for this group; and are working to identify and develop a comprehensive support system for families who are adopting children by any means throughout the country.
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Respite Care Work Group
In March of 1996, the Stark County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities asked Family Council to co-sponsor a community forum focusing on issues related to respite care and alternative residential options for children with complex mental health and developmental disabilities. As a collaborative effort of the Stark County Family Council and the Stark County Board of MR/DD, a work group was formed in June of 1996 to examine these important issues.

Working with partners from the Stark County Department of Human Services, FACES of Stark County, Easter Seal Society, The Arc of Stark County and others, a respite care model has been developed. The Easter Seal Society will be the gatekeeper for all respite care services. Family Council is providing support to the group, but no other direct service dollars have been secured for the group's activities.
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